Facts and figures for NIC-10 football playoff matches

Here is my game-by-game look at the four IHSA playoff games involving NIC-10 football teams Saturday

My predictions will follow later in the week, but for now here are some facts to mull over:

Class 7A

No. 9 Highland Park at No. 8 Hononegah

When: 2 p.m. Saturday

Records: Highland Park 7-2; Hononegah 7-2

Hononegah is making its seventh straight playoff appearance; the school record is 10 in a row. ... The Indians are 16-24 lifetime in the playoffs. ... They are 4-1 in the first round the last five years. ... Highland Park is making its first playoff appearance in three years and is 7-14 in the playoffs. ... Highland Park has not beaten a single winning team, losing to 5-4 Evanston and 6-3 Glenbrook North. Its opponents were 29-52. ... Highland Park has never won more than eight games in a season. ... Alex Martin (1,406 yards) and Jake Wilson (1,180) rank 1-2 in the NIC-10 in rushing. The two of them have combined for more than 400 yards in three straight games. ... Highland Park has only two starters who weigh over 200 pounds. The Giants average 180 pounds on their defensive line and 190 on the offensive line. ... Arizona-bound kicker Josh Pollack is their top player. ... Giants QB Tommy Stutker hurt his knee last week and may or may not play.

No. 14 Harlem at No. 3 Glenbard West

Records: Harlem 6-3; Glenbard West 8-1

Glenbard West is the defending state champ and is 67-6 the last six years. ... The Hilltoppers are 30-21 in the playoffs. ... Harlem has made the playoffs six years in a row and 12 overall but has never gotten past the second round. ... Harlem has the fourth-worst defense in the 7A playoffs, allowing 26 points, and the fourth-lowest scoring margin (4.0 points). ... Glenbard West has the No. 2 defense (7.2 points) and No. 3 scoring margin (29.2). ... The Hilltoppers only loss was 17-14 in the season opener to Wheaton-Warrenville South. ... Glenbard West is a run-first team, but QB Drew Vogg Vogg completed 9 of 12 passes for 198 yards last week. ... Scott Andrews ran 25 times for 103 yards in a 20-14 win over Oak Park River Forest, Glenbard West's only win by less than three touchdowns. ... Harlem has made the playoffs only twice as a 6-3 team, and won in the first round both years (in 2004 and 2005). ... De Woods leads Harlem with 646 yards on 105 carries and Tanner DiGiovanni is 115 of 186 passing for 1,390 yards.

Class 6A

No. 16 Belvidere North at No. 1 Boylan

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

Records: Belvidere North: 5-4; Boylan 9-0

Belvidere North is 2-2 in the playoffs. Boylan is 49-26, including 12-1 the last three years. ... Boylan has won 74 consecutive games against NIC-10 teams and beat North 38-34 in the last minute two weeks ago after converting a late fourth-and-8. ... North's Jace Bankord (157 of 248 for 2,086 yards) needs 150 yards to be the NIC-10's single-season passing leader and Kevin Tevebaugh (861 yards on 44 catches) needs 56 yards to become the NIC-10's fourth 900-yard receiver. They had 378 and 165, respectively, in the first game against Boylan. ... Boylan's Demry Croft is 89 of 137 for 1,222 yards with 11 TDs and one interception. ... Croft's 256 yards passing last week were the most by a Boylan quarterback since 274 by Matt Weber 11 years ago.

No. 9 Cary-Grove at No. 8 Guilford

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

Records: Cary-Grove 6-3; Guilford 7-2

Cary-Grove is 34-18 in the playoffs and made the playoffs 10 years in a row. ... The Trojans are 104-17 the last 10 years with one state title and two runner-up finishes, including last year. ... Guilford is 7-13 in the playoffs, including 1-9 in the last 20 years. ... The Vikings' lone win was a 14-10 upset at Hononegah in 2007 after losing 37-9 to the Indians in the regular season. ... Cary-Grove is 9-0 in the first round and 23-8 overall the last nine years. ... The Trojans were 6-3 (or worse) only one of those years, but reached the third round in that 2010 season. ... Nino Musso (83 of 151 for 1,185 yards, 12 TDs and five interceptions) is second-all-time on Guilford's single-season passing list but won't catch Jeff Anderson (2,186 yards in 1982). ... Freshman DL/SS/RB/FB Tyler Pennington has 791 yards on 135 carries for Cary-Grove and junior Jason Gregoire is 45 of 79 passing for 658 yards. ... Cary-Grove played the second-toughest schedule of any 6A playoff team; its foes were 49-32, vs. 38-43 for Guilford and 54-27 for New Lenox Providence.

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